Aloysius "Teaspoon" Hunter wearily sat down on the cot in the shed which served as his bed. He was dog tired and his bones ached from all the hard work he had done that day. Teaching a bunch of orphaned boys how to keep alive while riding for the Pony Express was exhausting.
It didn't help any that they were all mule-headed and different as night and day. The Kid was calm and sure of himself, but wasn't cocky like Jimmy Hickok was. William F. Cody could try the patience of a saint with his tongue wagging, boastful personality, which over shadowed Lou McCloud's quiet demeanor. Ike McSwain appeared to be scared of his own shadow, except when Buck Cross was around.
He had to give them all credit for knowing how to ride and shoot and defending themselves against a band of outlaws and renegade Indians while alone on the trail they knew nothing about. He couldn't recall how many times Jimmy had fallen off the back of a horse while catching the mochila or Cody forgot to duck down behind his mount while he took potshots at him.
Teaspoon wasn't certain any of them would be ready to ride by the time the express officially started, but experience would come in time. He wasn't about ready to give up on teaching the boys who would be calling the Sweetwater station home. Even though he retired to this shed bone tired from training the boys, every day he was thankful for having new reasons to get up in the mornings. As long as the Pony Express needed him, he had a place to hang his hat, good food in his stomach, and an important job to do.